Naruto: Serpent's Vengeance
by TwilightLink20xx
Summary: A Shattered Dreams Continuity story. 3 years have passed since Naruto and Sakura confronted Sasuke for the final time, and Akatsuki is determined to capture the final beast. But this time, they have an ace in the hole: A resurrected Orochimaru! NaruSaku
1. Prologue

_**Naruto: Serpent's Vengeance**_

A Shattered Dreams Story: By TwilightLink20xx

**Note:** Naruto: Serpent's Vengeance is a sequel to Naruto: Shattered Dreams. While one may read this story first, it is recommended for the sake of understanding past plot points that one read Shattered Dreams.

Prologue: A Proposal

Rain poured down on the village of Kohona. A blond ninja walked through it, taking in the smell of the damp ground. It had been a warm day, so a bit of cool water felt good to get a contrast to the sweat that covered his brow. Granted, he had been training all day, so maybe it hadn't been as hot as he thought, but it didn't matter, it felt good. He looked at his watch; 5:50. Perfect, he'd make it just in time.

He approached a door, knocking on it. It opened, a pink haired girl about five months younger than him stood in the doorway. "You're late, Naruto." She said, a sly smirk on her face.

"What are you talking about," Naruto replied, showing her his watch "It's only 5:55!"

The girl shook her head, "No, it's 6:05, your watch is running ten minutes behind, as usual." She giggled a bit, "Come on in." She brought him into the home, a warm and welcoming place he'd been so many times he'd lost track, but still looked forward to seeing. He wiped his feet on the mat, and squeezed the water out of the jacket through the doorway. He took a seat in the chair, looking towards his friend that sat in the chair across from him. "So, you sure you want to still get Ramen tonight?" She asked.

He laughed, "Not really, Sakura-Chan," he said, "Only if you still want to. I was kinda thinking that we'd go somewhere else tonight. Somewhere you'd like to go to. It is your birthday, after all."

Sakura smiled, it was her 19th birthday today, and she was looking forward for Naruto to come over. "Well, depends of if the Hokage is willing to pony up a little cash..."

Naruto laughed, "Sakura-Chan, If I can afford all that gaming gear, I think I can take my girlfriend out for something nice. Anything you want, I promise!"

"Okay.. Well, I was thinking about that place near the center of town with the view of the mountain. I hear they have really good steak."

Naruto smiled, "I thought you'd say that. I'll call them up, we should be able to get in." _Perfect, _Naruto thought, _Too bad it's raining, though, the patio would have been the perfect place..._

"Isn't it kinda fancy, though?" Sakura asked, "Shouldn't we dress up for that?"

"I've been there a couple times with Gaara after some sparring, they didn't seem to mind a whole lot."

"True, but it was you and the Kazekage, as far as they're concerned that's free press."

Naruto nodded, she had a point there. "Well, we could if you insist."

She smiled, "You go ahead and make the call and I'll meet you there. Make sure you wear something at least a little nice, preferably with no holes."

Naruto laughed, "I'll see if I can find something." He got up, and ran to his home. _Oh crap.... I think this is all I have that's not shredded!_

*****

Naruto was seated at a table next to the window, it wasn't a terribly busy day, but there certainly were people. He had managed to find a pair of black slacks and a button-up shirt, both of which were wrinkled from being shoved in a closet and used maybe once before. The last time he wore anything like this was.... Well, he couldn't remember wearing anything like this before. It was probably a gift from a year or two ago. He looked at his watch, it read 6:35, Sakura was taking her time. He'd only been there for 5 minutes, but he was anxious. He had a small box in his jacket's pocket, the same jacket he always wore. He knew good and well what he was doing.

Within seconds, he saw a familiar silhouette through the screen at the front, pink hair peeking through the top. Naruto smiled, straightening out as he watched her approach. She walked towards the table, wearing a long red dress. It's style was not unlike what she normally wore, but it was a bit more elegant in nature, as it ran a bit closer to her figure. Her hair was straighter than it normally was, brushed over from the right side, a flower shaped clipped held it in place. Sakura's emerald green eyes met with Naruto's. She blushed a bit, smiling at the blond boy, though shaking her hair a bit.

"Wow, Sakura-Chan..." Naruto said, having a bit of trouble speaking, "You look beautiful.... Not that you normally aren't but-" Sakura giggled.

"Thanks, Naruto.." replied Sakura, her blush even more evident now as she took her seat. "But seriously," She said, tone slightly embarrassed, "was that all you had?"

Naruto laughed, "Yeah, it was actually. Everything else was either too small or wasn't nice enough."

"Well," she said, her smile slightly askew "I guess it isn't that bad... You did clean up at least."

"You have to admit I clean up nice." He replied with his trademark grin.

She smirked, "Just a little." They both laughed, enjoying the time the spent together as they always did. Sakura thought,_ This is gonna be a great night...._

_*****_

Sakura placed down the fork, having finished her meal. They had both ordered the Kobe steak, which was extremely tender. It was a treat for her, as she'd never tried it before. It really was as good as they said it was, though she was a bit worried that Naruto would have trouble affording it. He had been the Sixth Hokage now for three years, but he never increased his paycheck. As a matter of fact, he actually made more money when he was just a sage! But that's how he felt, he never needed a lot of money in the first place. It didn't help that he was always spending it on his games and gifts for her, but then again, he still lived off of ramen.

"Oh!" Naruto said, " I can't believe I forgot to ask, how were things at the hospital today??"

"Good," she replied, "Shizune and Ino gave me a couple gifts, and it wasn't too busy for once." Naruto nodded, smiling. "How was yours?"

"Great!" Naruto responded, "I got to do some training and managed to get all that paperwork taken care of. Gaara's coming back into town next week, so we had to get all that set up for him."

"Very nice." Sakura looked at his left hand, he was fiddling with his jacket. He pulled out his money pouch, still the same frog he had when he was only twelve. He placed the money for the meal and tip on the table and grabbed his jacket. It was still raining, but it should be okay, especially if Sakura brought an umbrella.

"You ready to go?" Naruto asked.

Sakura nodded, "Yep, let's get out of here." They walked towards the front, Sakura had brought an umbrella, and walked through the streets. The rain was letting up a little bit, but not by much. She came in a little closer to Naruto, only the very bottom of her dress had gotten wet. They held hands, able to feel the warmth of the other, though Sakura could sense something was a little off about Naruto today.

"So," Naruto said, "Where do you want to go?"

"I'm not sure," she said, "Too bad it's raining, I'd love to go to that bench we always go to."

"We could still go," he said, "It isn't too cold yet, and if it gets too bad I could give you my jacket."

She thought about the proposition, it was tradition between the two of them to go there every time they went out on a date. Granted, it had never been raining when they went out, but then again there was a first time for everything. "Well... Okay, let's go." Sakura looked into the eyes of the boy, there was something going on in his head. He came across as more nervous than she'd seen him in a long time, since the first time they'd gone out together. _What is he up to? I wonder... _They got to the bench, sitting there together.

Naruto held the umbrella, the trees around the stone bench helped keep it from getting wet. Sakura smiled, leaning on Naruto's shoulder. She felt his heart start to beat a bit faster, faster than it usually did when she leaned on him. He placed his open arm around her, smiling.

"This brings back a lot of memories..." Naruto said. Sakura nodded.

"It does." She warmly recalled. "Remember the first time we talked together?"

"When I henged into Sasuke?" He chuckled, "That didn't work out to well... Should have checked that date, I was so close!"

She laughed, "You know I would have socked you clear across the park, it would have been my first kiss!"

"I got that anyway, didn't I?" Naruto slyly grinned.

She raised her eyebrows. "Touche...." She looked down. "It's the same bench we sat at after Lady Tsunade died too..." Sakura took a breath. She had died over three years ago, and even though she was able to move on and accept it, it didn't change the fact that Tsunade was gone. "So many memories here..."

Naruto nodded, closing his eyes as he held the girl of his dreams. He looked at the sky, the sun had set and it was now dark, the only other light source the lamps. The rain poured still, but it had let off quite a bit sense they had arrived. He looked into Sakura's emerald eyes, heart pounding, this was the perfect time... "You want to make another one?"

Sakura smiled, she had started to catch on a bit, but she had a feeling about what was coming. "Maybe..." Naruto handed her the umbrella, taking out the box from his pocket. He got down on one knee, opening the box. Sakura's smile grew wider as she looked inside of the box. It was a small gold ring with a diamond in the center, nothing extremely extravagant, but beautiful in it's simplicity.

"Sakura-Chan," Naruto said, "I know I asked you this before, a long time ago... But I told you I'd never hold you to it, we were barely 16 after all... So... Sakura Haruno, will you marry me?"

Tears streamed down Sakura's face, her smile now glowing with joy. She leaned in closer to the boy she'd loved with all her heart and pressed her lips against his. She pulled away after a moment and said one word. "Yes."

_**AN:**_ **Alright! Don't worry, the action starts up in the next chapter. You can expect a slight difference in stylings from this and Shattered Dreams (obviously I've decided to use the honorific for Sakura, but that's probably where it stops), but things will get closer in terms of pace and action sequences. (Trust me, if I don't get any of that in here, I'll go insane! Balance is everything, and if you're gonna write based off an action story, then dang it, make sure there's action!)**

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Naruto. Never have, never will. That's probably a good thing XD.


	2. I

*****

**I**

_Two Months Later_

Five figures surrounded a massive table, each garbed in a black cloak with red clouds on the garments. One stepped forward, a round mask on his face, covering all but one eye, that which was his Sharingan. The man spoke, "I have summoned you all because the time has come. Our sixth member is finally here..."

An individual stepped forward, throwing off the hood that hid his visage. "Good to see you all again." He said, a sickly tone coming from it. His face was a pale white, with two unearthly purple marks on his face. He smiled, teeth filed to a point, his eyes somewhere in between red, black and yellow.

One of the five was smiling, the masked one completely emotionless. The other three, on the other hand, stood in fear, clearly trying to hide it.

"Orochimaru..." the blue individual said, "Is it you, or Sasuke we're talking to?"

He laughed, "It's both, Kisame. Yes, Sasuke Uchiha is indeed dead, but I have all of his memories in my mind along with my own." He looked around at them all, eying all of the individuals. He knew all of them, but one stood out amongst them all.

The standout cleared his throat, "Orochimaru... It's been a long time."

"It has," he said, "Hasn't it, Danzo? When was the last time I saw you, around six years ago?"

"Something to that extent..." He said, "And it certainly cost me hell."

"Boo hoo," he mocked, "Welcome to my world." He looked at Madara, "So... When do we begin?"

"We begin," Danzo said, "When I find out it's the time to strike." He smirked, as he still had a few individuals working in Konoha. "The second they leave, we'll make sure we're there....."

*****

_Konoha, one hour later_

There was a knock on the door of Naruto Uzumaki, who was still sound asleep in bed. He sighed as he rubbed his eyes and got out of bed. "Just a second!" He shouted, making his way towards the door. He began to open it and started to see who was on the other side, when he quickly slammed it.

"Hey!" The person said, her voice slightly irritated, "Is that anyway to treat your fiancé?!"

"It is if I want to keep her my fiancé!" he said, a hint of wit peppered his voice, "Let me get dressed, it'll just be a couple minutes."

She shook her head, that was Naruto for you. But she did appreciate that he tried his best to be modest. Yes, she was going to marry him, but the point was they weren't, and anything could happen at any moment, though neither of them could imagine being with anyone else in the world.

The door opened, and Naruto stood there in a black T-shirt with a white circle surrounding what appeared to be the head of a Fender Stratocaster, and a pair of jeans. His hair was slightly tussled, but otherwise the same as it always was. "Okay, now you can come on in." he stated, smiling as he shut the door behind her. She wore her mission outfit, a sleeveless red blouse and shorts with a pink medic skirt over them. Even though she was a Jounin, the jacket that had seemed to be standard wasn't a requirement, and was rather bulky for her taste. Sakura hugged Naruto, looking up and kissed him.

"So, you ready for today's mission?" She asked, putting down her bag on the sofa. He pulled on his jacket, tying his headband to his forehead, and sat down across from her.

"Ready as I'm gonna be." He said, taking a moment to relax. "Should be a regular run, and we'll be back in time for the concert this weekend, just like we planned."

"Good thing I packed that shirt then." She said with a coy smile across her face.

"You mean the one you jacked from me and turned into something that was closer to your size?" Naruto asked, exclaiming and shaking his fist. "I certainly hope so, you took my favorite shirt!" He laughed and took up his pack. "Well, we'd better be going, I need to let Kakashi know he's in charge again."

"You realize that this is the second time this month you've done that, right?" Sakura said, "Pretty soon the people are going to accuse you of running off on a whim for the sake of irresponsibility if they aren't already, right?"

Naruto shook his head,"I'm sorry, I didn't get all of that, could you make it shorter?" Sakura shook her head, hand covering her eyes, smiling wider than before. "Naw, I got it. And it's not exactly my fault that the village leaders keep calling for me. What am I supposed to do, tell them I can't because people think I'm lazy? Besides, it's Gaara. It's about time we headed over there for a change."

Sakura shrugged, "You have a point," She said, reaching out for his hand as she opened the door, giving him a tiny pout. "But it would be nice to be able to stay home for a change."

Naruto smirked, "Sakura-chan, don't give me that look, you were the one that said I should take you with me."

She laughed, "I did NOT say that!" She hit him on the shoulder, "I said you shouldn't go alone! That didn't mean me necessarily!"

"Then why did you volunteer?" He said.

Sakura's mind scrambled to try to find a retort. "Uh... Umm...." She let out a sigh, "Because... I love you?" They both laughed as they made their way towards the gates that protected the village they'd called home.

*****

_Fire Country_

_One Day Later_

_ETA to Sand Village: 28 Hours_

Naruto and Sakura had taken a stop for a break at the halfway point, having just eaten, they were ready to head out for the town that bordered that stood just outside of the sand village. "So," Sakura asked Naruto, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Naruto said as he wiped his mouth, a tiny bit of ramen broth residue still on his lips. "Let's- err..." Naruto turned around looking around for something, "Uh, Sakura-chan, I'll be right back..."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "You okay, Naruto?"

He looked away, a little embarrassed, "Yeah, but, uh... I gotta go." Naruto ran full sprint towards the bathrooms next to the ramen bar, "I'll meet you in a minute!" He shouted.

Sakura shook her head, placing her hand on her face. She sighed. _Naruto... You're never going to grow up completely, are you?_ She smiled as she turned to look at the shops, knowing him it was going to take upwards of five minutes, she might as well make the most of it. _Hmm..._Sakura thought, _Maybe I should get him something, he's been giving me so much lately, it's about time I got him a little something in return. The only question now... A DS game, or Kingdom Hearts IV: Collector's Edition?_

*****

"Got her," a voice said in the radio, "she's headed inside the game store, try to get her in the commotion."

"Understood." the sound nin said, taking his hand off the headset in his ear. As far as the people in the crowd were concerned, he was just some guy talking on his cell-phone through a bluetooth headset, but in reality, it was a direct connection to a nin that was watching from the rooftops. He walked quicker through the crowd, trying to reach the pink-haired kunoichi in red. Lord Orochimaru had said to wait for the time to strike, this was as good of a time as any. "349, 382, get into that store, now. Make it fast, we don't have time!"

He was none other than the Shadow, and he was glad that his original master had finally returned. After the Sasuke incident, he was flat broke, he'd lost his reputation and never got the money for the last job. When he was approached by Orochimaru, who paid him in advance, things had looked far better than anything he could have done in a long time.

"We're in boss," a voice rang in his ear, "We do it now." Perfect, Shadow thought, It's a bout damn time things worked out...

*****

Sakura walked into the video game store, looking at the multiple metal racks that lined the walls, filled with the many cases. Seven years ago, this would have been so foreign to her, but when Naruto came back from training with Jiraiya, she made more of an effort to get to know him even better. Apparently, he had been an avid gamer, something that Jiraiya had fostered more than she realized. She walked towards the Xbox360 section, looking at the new games. When Naruto had first defeated Pain, she finally tried playing a game during what little time she had. RPGs were more her thing than shooters, but she was totally fine with both kinds of games. It was probably Naruto's influence from his games, but shooting things just wasn't that fun to her.

Sakura turned to the counter, "Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to have a copy of-"

*****

_**A/N: Alright, the first proper chapter! I'd like to thank Mixora for taking on Beta reading this story, it's a big help to have someone watching your back, lol. Anyways, sorry that it's taking much longer for chapters than it used to, things have gotten busy, and it took a while to ensure the general direction of the story. Hopefully I'll be able to get things moving faster as time goes on, see you all next chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto; this story is in no way connected to the original creator, owners, or license holders whatsoever.**_


	3. II

**II**

_Fire Nation, _

_Seven Minutes Later_

Naruto looked around the border town, it had been five minutes since he'd started to look for Sakura. _Jeez, _he thought, _Something's off, Sakura wouldn't just run off like that. Where could she have gone? _ He'd asked at least fifteen different people if they'd seen a pink-haired girl around 5'2 in a red shirt anywhere with no luck. He thought for a second, trying to figure out just where she would have gone. He looked around at the signs, seeing the different shops. He looked just two stores down on the other side of the Ramen Shop he and Sakura ate dinner at. He smirked, _Heh, I should have known better, shouldn't have I, Sakura-chan?_

Naruto walked into the Video Game shop, pushing the clear door open. "Sakura-chan?" He said, guessing that she was probably just behind one of the tall racks. He walked into the store and knew right away something was amiss simply by the lack of a sales associate behind the desk. The sound of the three demo kiosks placed at the front of the store ringed through Naruto's ears, making a confusing jargon of clashing blades, firearms and pings of satisfaction. He approached the desk, still looking to see if Sakura was just hiding something from him.

"MMPH!!" Naruto heard from behind the desk, and immediately ran to identify the sound. It was the store clerk, tied and gagged. He quickly removed the bindings.

"Hey," Naruto said, "What the heck happened here?"

The clerk coughed, "Ugh, thanks. Some guys came in here and gagged the staff, kidnapped some girl and disappeared into thin air."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, he frantically asked, "Did the girl happen to have pink hair?"

"Yeah, she did."

Naruto gasped, "How long ago?"

"About ten minutes ago or so."

_Crap!_ He thought, _The trail's fresh, but it won't be for long, especially if they're as good as I think they are. _"Thanks," Naruto said as he headed for the door. _Whoever the heck is doing this, they're gonna get another think coming. Nobody messed with Sakura-chan. Ever._

*****

_Fire Nation Border, 5 miles out of the city_

A buzzing went off in Shadow's pocket, prompting him to pick up the phone. He quietly grunted an affirmative.

"Shadow," a calm voice said, "He's on to you."

"I expected just as much," Shadow replied to his operative at the game store, "let the customer know that his package will be delivered on time." He closed the phone and continued his sprint. It was about time the job went smoothly, he'd never had anyone be more of a pain in the rear than that bloody Naruto Uzumaki....

*****

Naruto was in Sage Mode, having managed to pick up on Sakura's chakra signs. She was unconscious, and was getting further away from his range. He ran across the roofs of the town, rushing towards the north side of town. They were a good 7 miles away, and they had time on their side. Judging by how fast Sakura's chakra was becoming harder to sense, he could tell that it was a trained professional that had done this plenty of times before. But he had Sage Mode on his side, so he still had a chance, a tiny chance, that he could get to Sakura in time. He sprinted hard, leaping from the last building of the town, and ran towards the wood to the north.

He ran, four minutes away from his target. Sakura's chakra began to slip away a bit more. Either the guy was going faster or something screwy was going on. He ran harder, feeling the chakra start to stabilize. He managed to get back on pace with him, a two minute difference between them. There was a tiny variance in Sakura's chakra he didn't recognize that he could sense from this distance, they'd likely drugged her, but he had no clue what it was. Typically it was Sakura who was the expert on poisons, but he knew which onces were the best and most common. This one? It was something he'd never felt before, and he had a feeling it would take even Sakura days to figure out just what it was. _Hang in there, Sakura-chan! _He silently thought, starting to sense that he was going faster than the target. One minute, they were almost within eye shot. He sprinted even harder, starting to feel a strange cold chakra.

"Sakura-chan!!!" He screamed as he saw a figure enter a black void with his fiancé. The void closed before he could get in. Naruto collapsed in the area that once stood with a dark portal, sage chakra depleted. Naruto slammed the ground, letting out a feral cry, tears starting to stream down his eyes. _Sakura-chan... Not again... Not again... _He hit the ground two more times, and simply lied down, face in the dirt, losing whatever dignity he had. _Why... Why? Every time... I failed you again... I... _Naruto shook off the thought. _I have to hurry... I need to find her, there's no doubt that something's screwed up about this. What it is, I have no clue, but until I find Sakura-chan and figure just what the heck is going on, there's no way I'm headed back..._

Naruto pushed himself off the ground and wiped the tears and dirt off his face. _I need to let Gaara know I'm not gonna make the meeting after all...._

*****

_Konohakagure_

_Hokage Palace – Hokage's office_

_Twenty minutes after the kidnapping_

A phone went off in the office, the sound of a low computer-like sound emitting from the speaker. The tone cried out two times before the receiver was snatched off its base. "Hello?" a slightly nervous voice said; he wasn't exactly a people person.

"Sai!" Naruto shouted, a tinge of stress filled his voice, "This is Naruto, I need you to get Kakashi-Sensei on the line!"

"Uhh..." Sai said, looking around, "He's not here at the moment, Naruto..."

"Argh!" he replied, "Then where in God's name is he!?!" Naruto thought for a split-second, "Never mind, forget that thought. Look, I need you to tell Kakashi-Sensei that I'm not gonna be back for a little while, I have no clue when."

"Did something happen?" Sai asked, slightly puzzled at the idea of Naruto running into a problem with a mission.

"No, I just feel like gallivanting across the middle of nowhere in my boxers, OF COURSE SOMETHING WENT WRONG!!!!!"

"Umm," Sai said, "I didn't say anything about-"

"Can it, Sai." Naruto replied, "Look, Sakura just got kidnapped, don't ask me by who, I haven't the slightest idea on who really is behind the mess, but whoever did contacted Shadow."

"Oh, him again...."

"Exactly. Now look Sai, I need you to tell Kakashi about this and get your rear over here with Yamato."

"Wouldn't Kiba be a bette-"

"Not when the trail was designed cold."

Sai grunted an affirmative. "I'll let him know; we'll get there as fast as we can."

"Okay, make it fast, I have no clue why they want Sakura, but something tells me we aren't gonna have much time before they do something to her..."

Naruto hung up on his phone, leaving Sai on the line. He set the phone down on the base and ran towards the monument that Kakashi always went to everyday. _Naruto has a point, but why would they want Sakura..... Unless... Maybe? Naw, it can't be....._


	4. III

III

Sakura groggily awoke, unsure of how long it had been or where she was. The little light that was in the room burned for a couple of seconds, but she quickly adjusted to the dimness. There was a slight tug in her stomach, how long had she been in there. Apparently long enough that she was starting to get a tad lightheaded. Sakura checked her pockets for something, frantically searching for anything she could find. Reaching for her left ring finger, she let out a gasp realizing that they'd taken that too.

"Looking for this?" a voice said as its owner began to step slightly in the light. Sakura knew exactly who it was as she felt a sense of fear fill the cell.

"No, you can't be..." Sakura uttered under her breath, "You're dead!"

A laugh came from the owner has he looked into the cell. "Oh, don't worry my dear, the Uchiha boy is indeed dead. Slayed by your lover boy, I'd assume this is his, no?" The man licked his lips, and Sakura knew exactly who it was. "Heh, it's been how long now... Four years?"

"Oh my God..." Sakura said, backing away just a bit more. "O... Orochimaru..."

"I'm quite disappointed Sakura," Orochimaru said, laughing. The body and the voice may have been Sasuke's, but it was clear as day that Orochimaru had made himself at home by the clothing and purple marks under his yellow eyes. "And they said you were the smarter of the three, psh." He placed the ring into his pocket, "You're not wanting this, are you?"

Sakura frowned, her fire starting to burn, "Cut the crap Orochimaru," she said, "What do you want me for."

"Oh, well I can't tell you that, now can I?" He kept a small smirk across his face, clearly enjoying the situation far too much. "But something tells me you already know, don't you... Sakura-chan."

Sakura had enough, she channeled all her chakra into her fist, yelling as slammed the bar. Her yell turned into a yelp of pain shooting up her arm.

Orochimaru laughed, "Ah, about those bars, I made sure they could hold you in there, we all know about that strength and temper of yours. Nothing a little bit of chromium steel can't take care of. You might want to get..." he said as he examined the ring again, throwing it into the cell across from Sakura's, "comfortable."

*****

_Fire/Sand Country Boarder_

_One Day After Abduction_

"You see anything yet, Yamato?" the Hokage said as he entered Sage mode again. He had been trying it on and off to see if they could get the slightest lead on where Sakura was.

"Not even close Naruto," he replied, shaking his head. "I'm afraid that the trail is more than cold, it's been completely erased. Whoever did this knew exactly what he was doing."

Naruto shook his head, "God..." He sat down, rubbing his eyes. He'd been searching for almost 24 hours, and he knew he was out of it."It's my fault, all my fault. If I hadn't walked away, if I hadn't left her alone, then-"

"Don't blame yourself," Sai said, "It would have happened to anybody."

"You don't get it, do you Sai?" Naruto said, his tone increasing, "I'm almost _positive _that they're really after me. Sakura-chan just got caught in the crossfire, it's my fault!"

Sai was silent for a moment. Unfortunately, he had a point. It wasn't a secret that Naruto and Sakura had been an item for the past few years, let alone that they had been recently engaged. Regardless of who their target was for this particular situation, it was blatantly obvious that Naruto was who they were really after.

Naruto sighed, closing his eyes. "Naruto," Yamato said, "look, we're going to need to look into this, look in the backlogs to figure out what's going on here. You need to get some rest. I've sent for heavy instrumentation, it's the only way we're going to be able to see if there's a lead."

"I thought you said there was no trail?" Sai said.

Yamato snickered a tiny bit, "Sai, there's a few things that ROOT never did train you about..." He turned towards Naruto. "They never even told the Hokages either. Danzou was quite the secretive type, but if there's one thing I know, it's that there is _always_ a trail."

"What?" Naruto said, "But I thought you said-"

"Erased, right." Yamato said, "But tell me, if something is erased, is it gone, or is it just so light, that it lingers?" He left a stake in the ground, a small blinking light on the top of it, then turned towards the small town. "It's up to you Lord Hokage... But I'd recommend as both an advisor and a friend that you get some sleep. It's not going to do you any good if you keep running on fumes."

Naruto nodded as he pushed himself up and began walking towards town. He pulled out a small chain from his pocket. It was a simple silver chain with a small pink spiral at the end. Sakura had given it to him before he left on his last solo mission as _"a little piece of her to hang onto"._ _Yamato's right... I need to clear my head... Hang in there Sakura-chan..._

*****

_Two hours later_

Naruto opened his eyes to a open white void that he'd seen far too often. _What? _He thought, _How'd I... But it's been three years! Why-_

"Miss me?" a voice asked from behind him.

"Gah!" Naruto exclaimed as he heard a voice from behind him. "It's you!"

"Indeed it is, son." The blond figure said, with a playful smirk on his face, "I've been watching you, looks like you're in another pickle, huh?"

"Yeah..." Naruto said, looking down. "Hey... Wait a second! Last time I saw you, didn't you say that-"

"We'd not meet again?" Minato said, "Well, as far as I knew that was the case. Apparently I have a new job."

"New job?" the young Hokage asked, scratching his head.

"Yeah," replied the elder, "you probably remember my employer of sorts, he said the two of you had a good talk a few years back."

"Oh, that guy!" Naruto said, remembering the voice from three years past, "Who exactly is he, I never got a name."

Minato laughed, "He's got quite a few, to put it bluntly, you'll just have to find one for him yourself." He looked at his son in the eye, "But that's not exactly why I'm here, Naruto."

Naruto nodded as he looked to the side. "Lemmie guess, it's about Sakura-chan, huh."

Minato smirked, "Pretty much. Oh, and your mother wanted me to let you know she loves the girl you've chosen."

Naruto blushed a bit, "Uh, yeah... Tell her I said hi, and that I finally saw a few pictures of her a couple of years ago." Naruto shook his head, "Wait, what am I doing, you said you have a message, right?"

The elder kage gave a sign of approval, "That is indeed the case. Now, listen to me Naruto, the people that took Sakura aren't just after you like you assumed. The fact of the matter is that there's a lot more at stake then it seems. And I think you'll find that her captors are not as alien as you think."

"Akatsuki's finally back, huh." Naruto said.

"You catch on quick."

"Well, considering I'm 19 and the Hokage, I think I need to, Dad."

"True indeed..." he took a brief pause. "Crap, I'm running out of time... Look Naruto, you need to be prepared for this, but we're dealing with things that couldn't be more complicated. Something is brewing around you, and it's going to suck you in for one crazy ride. You may find yourself questioning everything, but you and Sakura are the only people that can stop this wreck from happening. One of their ranks has been messing with things that are best left alone, and you're going to get sucked into the me-" he started to fade away.

"DAD!" Naruto exclaimed.

Minato shook his head as he started to fade into obscurity, "Naruto!" He shouted, "Just don't be reckless with the paradoxes!"

"What?!?" he said, caught completely off-guard. "What are you-"

"I love you son, be care-!" and he ceased to be present.

"Hello brother." a voice said from behind, the owner shoving Naruto onto the now dirty ground. He turned around and only shock came to him.

"Sasuke, but-!"

"Missed me?" he said with a blade in his right hand, and someone precious to Naruto in the other, the cold steel placed on her neck. He licked his lips and let out an unearthly cackle as he slit Sakura's throat. Naruto wasn't sure which was louder, his fiancé's shriek of physical pain, or his cry of that emotional.

*****

Naruto darted up from his nightmare, shaking his head. _What the heck!?! _He panicked, breath . "Oh God..." He said, "Dear God, don't tell me... They're back. The nightmares are..." He laid his head back on the pillow. _Dear father in heaven, this is going to suck. Why is it always me? Why is it that I'm the one that gets sucked into this crap! _He sighed, looking at the chain on his nightstand. He gripped it firmly in his hands as tears rolled down. _Why do you have to be gone now, Sakura-chan? Right when I need someone to talk to..._

*****

**A/N:** Well, looks like I did it again xD. Sorry guys, hopefully that doesn't happen again, but I'm not gonna make any promises. Super special thanks to Mixora/Namixas, my beta for all the help, I was completely out of it this chapter and it's thanks to her that you're not raising eyebrows and thinking I'm off the rocker, lol. So, see you all at IV!


	5. IV

IV

_Fire Nation Border_

_Two Days Since Sakura's Abduction_

Naruto looked at the behemoth that sat next to him. He had no earthly idea what the nineteen PC towers linked together were, but Yamato still wouldn't tell him. "Yamato-sensei, what the heck is this thing!?! I know you all at ROOT kept things secret from me, but seriously, what in the world do you have in those things?!"

"Patience, Naruto," Yamato said, "and stop calling me sensei, or I'll make good on that promise of yours!" He chuckled as he entered a password into the contraption, remembering the deal he made with his former student when he became the Hokage three years prior. "If you must know, we linked these boxes and loaded them with at least 10 cell processors each."

"WHAT!?!" Naruto exclaimed, "Then how'd you get the bu-!"

"Because you weren't the Hokage at the time." Yamato replied, "Lady 5th wasn't exactly behind on the times. That's why we're able to power it on five generators."

Naruto's playful smirk turned into a frown. "Yamato, spill it. That's way too much processing power, and things aren't adding up. What was ROOT up to?"

Yamato sighed, "Fine, fine..." He flicked a switch and executed a program. "The fact of the matter, Naruto, is that ROOT was working on a hefty stack of theories left behind by Orochimaru. Amongst them was a way to break dimensions."

"Whoa there, breaking dimensions?"

He grunted an affirmative. "It sounds ridiculous, but the fact of the matter is that he was looking into traveling beyond space, trying to figure out a way-"

"To turn back the clock," Naruto finished. "No wonder the elders gave him the boot. But what does that have to do with..."

"You seeing it yet, Naruto? The point was to not leave a trail, whoever did this didn't want to get caught. But at the same time..."

"They wanted to get me as well." Naruto shook his head, "I think I'm starting to get it. But what does this do?"

"Let me try to explain this as simply as possible. Orochimaru's method is ingenious, but not without its issues. One of the things that it does is leave a signature in Time space"

"Time space?"

"It's where time becomes space..." Yamato scratched his forehead, he knew that it would go over Naruto's mind, but he needed to drive the point anyway. "Look, we're limited to space, the 3rd dimension. You understand the concept of 2D Space, right?"

"That it's flat and constrained by space, yeah, that's pretty simple." Naruto said, remembering all of the headaches that one game he played gave him when it started talking about dimensions and computer simulations gaining new forms, which had never made sense to him.

"Well, if each dimension is constrained by the one that comes after it, then here in 3D space, we're constrained by time, which is true as we're always moving forward."

"Okay, I get that, but where are you headed with all of this?"

"The idea of time space, Naruto," Yamato said, "is that it exists in the 4th dimension, time. It isn't restricted by time because it IS time. It's a space that allows you to freely traverse time as if it were just like this area we're standing in."

Naruto scratched his head, he was still a tad confused by the concept, but it was all starting to fall into place. "So what you're saying is that Orochimaru learned how to break into another dimension, but never bothered to learn how to clean up the footprints?"

"Pretty much." Yamato said, "That where this machine comes into play. Time is a very unstable dimension when you start trying to escape from the 3rd dimension, and you can't sustain survival in there for long either, but one thing we've found is that once you leave your mark, it's there forever." He turned the screen towards Naruto, pointing at a rift.

"Cool, but what does that mean for us?" Naruto asked, still completely oblivious to how a mark in time would prove anything but how the guy escaped.

"It means," Yamato said, flicking the switch, "that we'll have a one-way ticket to whatever place he popped up in."

"You mean I will," Naruto said. "Yamato, I know that I left Kakashi-sensei in charge, but I don't want you or anyone else coming with me on this one."

Yamato shook his head, knowing that he and Naruto had butted heads on these matters millions of times, and he knew that Naruto backing down wasn't going to happen. "I had a feeling you were going to say that." He threw him a comm piece, "Look, I know that this is personal for you Naruto, but you need to be careful."

A black aura opened in front of Naruto, causing a sense of discomfort to come about him. "This will take you to their rendezvous point, we'll try to keep in contact with you, but knowing Akatsuki, I'm doubting that we'll be able to get anything. Chances are its a trap, so watch your back."

"Can do," the young hokage said as he stood before the darkness. "And Yamato," he said, turning towards the advisor, "thanks."

"Good luck, Lord 6th." he said as he walked through the portal.

*****

_Unknown Time_

_Unknown Place_

A man stood at a cliff, inhaling the bitter nicotine fumes. He couldn't stand the taste, hated the habit and could no longer feel the calmness it once gave him. But as far as he was concerned, every little bit would help. He sighed as a thought drifted through his mind, the one that he could just never shake. He shook his head as he tasted that his smoke was about useless, and took his final inhale.

It was then that a shooting star came overhead. He let out a puff of smoke and thought about something he'd heard long ago. He wished upon it and walked back towards a village that he'd sworn to protect, tracing across the battle scar that he'd received on that fateful day so long ago. _Maybe I'll see you again after all... _the blond thought_, Maybe that dream wasn't as much of a dream as I thought it was..._

*****

Naruto fell to the ground of the recovery point, and quickly ran for cover. No one was in the area, but one couldn't be too careful. He hit the comm button "Naruto here, I'm headed out, It's working out just fine." He entered Sage mode, searching for any kind of geographical landmarks as well as that cold chakra he knew all too well. He looked a bit more and found he was just west of the rain village by a good 250 miles.

He had exerted a pretty good amount of chakra to get that result, but he would be able to make up for that so long as he didn't get himself into any trouble for a few hours. He managed to locate a larger chakra area about 65 miles north of his current location. He considered for a moment to search for Sakura's chakra, but decided against it_. If I'm gonna save Sakura-chan, the last thing I need to do is overexert myself. I'd better wait until I'm closer to the camp. _He started to begin his run when he felt something press against his neck. The last thing he remembered was a couple of words of congratulation he could barely make out. Naruto's world went black.

*****

_My son, the time is coming soon._

_It won't be long before it all falls apart._

_I already know the path I'm going to set before you..._

_I know you can handle it..._

_Prepare to make the choice..._

_I believe in you...Naruto Uzumaki_


End file.
